Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to (a) prevent and (b) tackle wildlife crime in Surrey Heath constituency.

Wildlife crime can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife should face the full force of the law.

That is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), a specialist police unit, which plays a vital role in providing intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK.

The NWCU operates nationally; however, its activities include offering specialist support on tackling rural and wildlife crime to local forces, as well as training for frontline police officers.